Inspector Green tackles pilates

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the heavy, and often unnecessary, energy use of many fitness clubs. Perhaps some of you who prefer pilates to conventional gym-going had a moment of righteousness: After all, pilates doesn’t focus on cardiovascular exercise, and often takes place in studios that evoke the same chemical-free, clean living as a yoga studio.

But after I rolled over a stability ball at my gym the other day and caught a big rubbery whiff of what I’ve learned is the smell of phthalates, I decided to look into the purity of the pilates toolbox, particularly products made by SPRI, which seems to have cornered the S.F. market.

Inspector Green was un-impressed by what he discovered. SPRI’s stability balls do indeed contain phthalates. Adam Zwyer, SPRI’s marketing manager, explained to me that not all phthalates are toxic, though he couldn’t be sure which ones were in which products. But SPRI’s stability balls are made from PVC, which pose a health concern. (PVCs are also problematic to planetary health.)

Zwyer also emphasized that most concerns about exposure stem from oral exposure in children, and that stability balls could not easily be chewed by even the most balanced and enterprising young lad or lass. True enough, but respiratory exposure to pthalates is also a health risk, meaning that the clean-feeling studio you’re going to may be increasing your risks of asthma and allergies in addition to strengthening your abdomen.

Asked whether SPRI was looking for safer alternatives to phthalates, Zwyer answered, “We’re looking at all our products, making sure they’ll be compliant in all states.”

Lessons learned? Just because particular products market themselves as part of a green lifestyle doesn’t mean you don’t have to do your homework to find out what’s in them. If you don’t like what you find, make sure you tell the company.

What do you think? Is SPRI greenwashing? Or are phthalates so pervasive that SPRI shouldn’t be criticized for using them?